Foxconn Electronics, the world’s largest contract manufacturer and third largest technology company by revenue, reported consolidated revenues of NT$341.69 billion in March 2017, an increase of nearly 18 percent over February and nearly 2 percent year-over-year.

The company’s revenue growth last month has mostly been attributed to growth in its three major product lines. The strongest product line last month was communications, followed by computing and then the consumer electronics product lines.

While the company’s revenues in Q1 2017 were up from the same quarter in 2016, market watchers are concerned that exchange rate fluctuations and the Nokia acquisition last year have had some negative influences on non-operating income.

Meanwhile, the company totaled NT$18.852 billion in year-to-date revenues, up 7.19 percent from the same timeframe last year.

Foxconn experienced a profit nose dive back in December as its number one customer decided to slash production on its iPhone 7 due to slower sales. However, Apple’s earnings report from January indicates that the company’s sales are off to a great start this year at $17.9 billion in profits. The fruit-themed toymaker predicts it will make between $51.5 and $53.5 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2017, though it is still experiencing a sales dark spot in the greater China region over the previous year.

As we reported last week, the company is seeking new avenues to re-ignite its growth prospects, particularly as greater competition and surging labor costs in China give it a smaller sustainable path to growth. The latest option on the table is to change focus to high-margin components that allow it to fend off orders from new competitors in the local market.

Word is on Battle.Net that StarCraft 2: Heard of the Swarm is coming on March 12th, 2013. The news comes ahead of any official announcement from Blizzard, who is expected to make an official announcement as soon as today or tomorrow.

Heart of the Swarm, the long-awaited expansion pack, was supposed to be targeted for release late this year; but after beta testing, word was that the game would not make it out this year and instead would arrive next year at some point. Activision had previously announced that the expansion pack would arrive sometime in the first half of 2013, with more specific details to follow.

Battle.Net will be offering a Deluxe Digital Edition of the expansion pack that will include a number of bonus items able to be used in StarCraft 2, World of Warcraft, and Diablo 3, depending on the item.

Last night Apple revealed the company has sold a staggering number of 365 million iOS devices since March 30th. It was also said that 80 percent of their customers are running iOS 5 while the remaining 20 is stuck with iOS 4 and older.

Scott Forstall Senior VP of iPhone software didn't miss a chance for some comparisons with Android. Namely, only about 7 percent Android users run Android 4.0, meaning that last year’s Gingerbread Android 2.3 remains dominant with more than 75 percent.

Apple talked that it served 1.5 trillion push messages, some 7 billion per day which is quite a big number. More importantly, he talked about 140 million iMessage users that have sent 150 billion messages at a rate of 1 billion per day. This should spell huge losses for telecoms but we will look into this some other time.

Apple’s iOS5 is responsible for 10 billion tweets and some 47 percent of photos come from it as well. According to Apple, the number of people using twitter on iOS increased three-fold since it was introduced for iOS5.

Game center got some 130 million accounts that are generating 5 billion scores per week and 67 or top 100 games integrate with it. If you have a team of employees who have iPhones and iPads, this is what a good portion of 130 million of them are doing when you’re wondering what they’re doing in their work hours. Shut up and throw that bird already.

Apple also claims that 75 percent of customers are satisfied with iOS. According to a chart they pulled out of somewhere, there are less than 50 percent of satisfied Android users, close to 40 percent satisfied Windows phone users and less than 25 percent satisfied RIM users.

You can imagine Android users aren’t happy as only 7 percent of them have the top Android 4.0, whereas 93 percent is still stuck with the old Android 2.3 or worse. The big numbers were thrown out Steve Jobs-style and traditionally made Apple look better than the competition. We have to admit that for the good parts of it they did a good job in last two years with iPhone 4 and 4S, but they do need a bigger screen.

Having hit the spotlight for all the wrong reasons lately, Foxconn reported non-consolidated revenue of $9.43 billion in March.

This means that the revenues grew 17.83 percent on month and 29.70 percent year-on-year. Factoring in the company’s January-March period, which raked in 42.59 percent more on year, one would think that the negative media campaign actually did the company good.

The company attributed the growth to strong demands for consumer electronics. Foxconn’s list of clients includes the likes of Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung and many other high profile names.

It is estimated that the company will do very well in Q2 of 2012 as well, due to shipments of consoles and other products.

While Tim Shaffer has not closed all of the doors on possible funding options for a sequel to the original Psychonauts, the comments from Markus Persson about being interested in funding the project have led to some Emails being exchanged. The revelation is that the cost to make a sequel to Psychonauts is going to cost far more than many had initially thought. (We continue to hear a number of $13 million being tossed around, but we are not sure if this is accurate.)

Persson has clarified his position by saying that a couple of other parties are interested in investing in the game; however, if he were to invest in this project it would be because he thinks the game would be profitable as an investment, not as a charity. Based on this response, we have to assume that he is taking seriously the possibility of being involved as an investor in the title.

Right now, Persson is asking for calm and for everyone to stop hyping it over the Internet. He does not want to let anyone down, and at the same time he wants to keep this in the open rather than having to do things secretly. The Mahjong boss plans to consult with his contacts and advisors to help him evaluate the situation and make the best decision possible on whether to invest and help fund the sequel.

Well, it was about time we learned of Max Payne’s fate, as the game was delayed a few times but Rockstar finally announced the launch date for Max Payne 3.

The company said that Max Payne 3 will launch sometime in March, although it's understandable if gamers are skeptical. Namely, the game was intended to launch back in 2009, only to be delayed a few time since.

The game will launch for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. This time around, we can expect a multiplayer mode as well, which according to the company should deliver a :”compelling experience that dynamically alters maps and mode progression for all players in a match. Along with traditional multiplayer modes, Max Payne 3 will also include a deep reward and leveling system, persistent clans and multiple strategic load-out options.”

We have spoken with a number of sources who insist that the rumors that are being reported in a number of other locations are accurate, and Apple will announce the new iPad 2 in a press event to be held in San Francisco on March 2nd.

This does seem to confirm what we have been hearing about the iPad 2 and the fact that it would be announced in early March. As we previously told you about, our sources still say that we can expect a highly revised thinner design with many more features, as well as more flash and onboard memory and higher performance graphics processing power.

It is expected that the CPU will get a bump in speed as well as the addition of front and rear camera that can be used with FaceTime. Besides Apple and its authorized dealers, it is said that both AT&T and Verizon will offer the iPad 2 this time around.

Those waiting for the new NASCAR 2011 that was to arrive in February will have to wait a little longer. New NASCAR 2011 developer Eutechnyx has said that the title will be delayed (or bumped, if you will) till March 29th.

While the studio is claiming that the delay has nothing to do with NASCAR likely changing its Championship Points structure starting with this season, it does seem that the title was in a shippable state but the developers are being giving additional time to polish and add a couple of features that they wanted include.

Sources tell us that the decision was made in the interest of producing the best game possible; and because this is the first new NASCAR game in a while and the first to be distributed by Activision, as well as the first in the new NASCAR franchise from developer Eutechnyx, they naturally want to get it right.

The delay in the release of the title means that it will not arrive in time for this year’s Daytona 500, which is the biggest race of the year and the start of the 2011 NASCAR season. While a number of rumors have suggested that a PC version might be possible in addition to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions that will be released this year, our sources tell us that it isn’t happening. While a PC version might be a possibility in the future, there isn’t going to be a PC version of NASCAR 2011 this year.

If our sources are right, the often rumored reboot of the Planetside franchise is likely to be announced this March. The MMOFPS has been the subject of rumors for quite some time, but Sony has yet to announce anything regarding a new Planetside offering.

The first rumor that we heard about the possibility of a new Planetside was way back in October or maybe November of 2009, but nothing really materialized to confirm that this was the case. Now, we have learned that apparently Sony has been quietly working on it; but don’t get too excited, as it does apparently still have a way to go to get to release.

While some are calling the new title Planetside Next, we have been told not to count on that as the de facto release name, as it will likely be changed before it arrives to the public. It is expected (from the whispers we hear) that there will be a first look in March with a more in-depth look at E3, and an actual launch sometime in very late 2011 or perhaps early 2012.